In a letter addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senators Joseph Lieberman, Independent of Connecticut, and Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, expressed concern about counterterrorism training and trainers.
“We are concerned … that state and local law enforcement agencies are being trained by individuals who not only do not understand the ideology of violent Islamist extremism, but also cast aspersions on a wide swath of ordinary Americans merely because of their religious affiliation,” wrote Lieberman and Collins, who are the chairman and ranking 
Republican of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Lieberman and Collins went on to say that their staff inquiries had uncovered evidence that “improper training may not be limited to mere isolated occurrences.”
Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, billions in federal funds have been devoted to state and local law enforcement, with much of the money spent on counterterrorism training. But Lieberman and Collins fear some trainers may be unqualified or biased.
Lieberman and Collins referenced recent reports of “self-appointed counterterrorism training experts as engaging in vitriolic diatribes and making assertions such as ‘Islam is a highly violent, radical religion.’”
The letter said: “Our enemy is clear – it is the ideology of violent Islamist extremism and those individuals who subscribe to it…. The enemy is in fact the ideology of violent Islamist extremism – the ideology that inspired the attacks of 9/11 as well as a myriad of attacks large and small around the world prior to and after 9/11. Describing the threat accurately is essential not just for countering it effectively but also for distinguishing the threat from the peaceful practice of Islam and from the millions of law-abiding and patriotic Muslim Americans.
“As a result, we are concerned with recent reports that state and local law enforcement agencies are being trained by individuals who not only do not understand the ideology of violent Islamist extremism but also cast aspersions on a wide swath of ordinary Americans merely because of their religious affiliation. Media reports cite some of these self-appointed counter-terrorism training experts as engaging in vitriolic diatribes and making assertions such as ‘Islam is a highly violent radical religion’ and that if someone has ‘different spellings of a name,… that’s probable cause to take them in.’
“These comments, of course, are neither factually accurate nor consistent with our nation’s fundamental values and are not made by adequately trained personnel. It appears, however, that some of these so-called experts have neither the academic nor operational background in the material about which they train.
“Preliminary inquiries by our staffs suggest that improper training may not be limited to mere isolated occurrences. We are concerned that at best, the quality of training is inconsistent, and at worst, is actually detrimental to our efforts to confront homegrown terrorism. Muslim Americans are central allies in our fight against violent Islamist extremism, and any training that implies otherwise is both inaccurate and counterproductive to our shared goals,” the letter read.
The senators’ inquiry drew criticism from some, including author Robert Spencer.
“But Islam demonstrably is a violent religion,” Spencer, whose controversial writings on Islam have been criticized, told The Washington Times. “Not every Muslim is violent, but the religion teaches and encourages violence against non-Muslims.”
Spencer told The Washington Times that he has taken part in counterterrorism training for the US military and intelligence agencies and the FBI. He told The Washington Times he was concerned the senators’ inquiry could lead to “politically correct guidelines to stop people teaching the truth about Islam.…”
The Obama Administration, following in the footsteps of the Bush Administration, has stated publically that Islam is a religion of peace.
